Cleit of the week...

13 August 2007

…is Number 1146.

I have spent a week crawling in and out of cleits, checking measurements and assessing erosion/damage.And cleit 1146 is my favourite of the week. It is one of over 200 cleits built on the slopes of Oiseval.Its internal measurements are 3.5 m long by 0.8 m wide.The door, which faces east, is 0.78 m wide by 0.70 m high. The walls are between 0.66 m and 0.70 m thick. At the rear of the cleit is a small drain, now rather overgrown.Unfortunately, the turf roof has eroded completely leaving the large stone lintels exposed.At the entrance to the cleit are two large blocking stones, once used to close the cleit to provide extra shelter for the goods stored inside.Like many of the cleits on the slopes of Oiseval this cleit was probably used to store turf or peat.Turf and peat were cut and dried on the hills then taken down to the village to heat the houses.

This is a particularly well-preserved example of the cleits on Oiseval.Fortunately, only one small stone from the top of the roof has moved over the past 12 months.

I stopped for a quick tea break at this cleit and enjoyed the rather stunning view of VillageBay below - perhaps the view is one of its most extraordinary qualities.